How to Publish Articles (Natively) on LinkedIn Like Pro
If you’re wondering where you can get your articles published, so that it reaches a broader audience, we have great news for you: LinkedIn allows you to create and publish articles natively on their platform. Not only can you leverage the wide user base that LinkedIn has, but you can also use their analytics to see how your posts perform.
Like Facebook did with Instant articles, LinkedIn has switched from being a solely networking-based platform, focused on professionals, to a content-based platform that allows its user to educate themselves while spending time on their platform. That’s also what both LinkedIn and Facebook (amongst other platforms) desire — to keep you, me and other users on their platform for as long as they can.
Does this feature represent the potential for you to share your knowledge among other people? You bet it does - if “done well”. Let’s jump right into how you can publish articles natively on LinkedIn like a pro.
To get started, click the “Write an article” button. Can’t find it? It’s right there, have a look:
Isn’t this one of the features that has been in front of your eyes the whole time, but remained undiscovered?
Once you hit the button, magic happens. You are redirected to an interface where you can create your native LinkedIn article. Having said that, you can now configure the content: add a headline, background image, write the article, add engaging or educating infographics or other visuals and finally, publish!
We won’t leave you without any tips and tricks to get started (just keep reading), but we recommend you play around with this feature to get a better idea of what all you can do.
LinkedIn vs. website blog post
You probably run your personal or business website and are wondering what is so different between publishing an article on your website and your LinkedIn page, right? That’s a great question to ask and tough to answer. The core point, of course, is whether your target audience uses LinkedIn and is used to consuming content natively there. If so, give LinkedIn articles a go! If not, dig deeper…
Is your website too complex or hard to manage to publish articles there? LinkedIn definitely offers you an easier way of getting your content out to the world. On the other hand, the simpler way can limit you if you’re looking for some advanced features.
Most importantly, if you are looking to build your website discoverability on search engines (SEO), it is important to create valuable content directly on your website, as it helps you increase the domain authority and leads your readers (and possibly potential customers) directly to you. In that case, republishing your content on LinkedIn can help you leverage this professional-focused platform while building the authority of your own website.
But don’t forget, LinkedIn prefers its own content over yours –any content that leads users away from LinkedIn may not be liked by the algorithms that either help your post get discovered by your audience or make it fade away.
How to effectively write articles on LinkedIn
Now that you know how to get started, let’s go through some tips & tricks. Noah Kagan has published great stats from 3,000 blog posts and has highlighted some of the key outcomes:
- Write headlines between 40 and 49 characters long
- Make your articles look visually appealing — add images
- Use “How to” and List-Style headlines
- Add subheadings for better readability
- Write robust articles with around 2,000 words
- Share your article on other platforms, increase engagement and, therefore, reach
These are some of the guidelines that you can follow, but to figure out how to nail it will be your job. One thing will work for my audience, while another thing will work for yours. Try and learn.
Optimize the article for mobile
What is, nonetheless, very important, is to optimize your article for mobile. Almost 60% of LinkedIn users visit this platform using their Smartphones. Your articles should, therefore, be separated into subsections (using subheadings), because otherwise your article will be difficult to read. Judge for yourself. Which one of these articles is easier to read?
There is a percentage of users that do not read the whole article, but instead, scan through and catch the most important (outlined) points. Make it easy for them. Add bullet points and lists so that people can easily recognize what’s more important and what requires their attention.
Add visuals to increase user experience
Besides that, some people remember information better when it’s visualised. In fact, the human brain is able to process images 60,000 times faster than text. Taking this into consideration, you really should include graphics in your article. Numbers, stats and key information can be represented in an infographic which increases the user experience rapidly.
Set up your profile properly
We’ve covered some of the tips to write great articles on LinkedIn, but what we shall not forget is your profile itself! You’d be the author of the article and you’d be listed both on the top and the bottom of the article. It is important, when someone clicks through to your profile, to have everything properly set up — profile picture, work experience, skills and endorsements, other articles that you’ve written (yes, it’s not about posting one piece of content and then taking a break) and, of course, the number and quality of your connections. This all will play an important role when you’re trying to build your personal image or the image of your business or product. Again, see for yourself:
Stay responsive to comments, likes and shares
Last but not least, stay responsive. There is nothing worse than putting so much energy into creating engagement with your audience and then ignoring their comments, likes or shares. If you write a quality piece of content and spread it effectively around, you will for sure be awarded by high engagement. Make sure to be responsive… What I mean by that is answering comments, creating dialogues, following up with users that shared or liked your article and inviting them to connect, so that next time when you create another great article, they see it right on their feed.
How to spread your content to the world
Done. You’ve written the article and are ready to hit the “Publish” button. Your profile is optimised and you are ready to lead dialogues with your audience. You are all set up!
Now make sure to leverage all your channels to get your posts in front of as many eyes as possible.
Copy the link of your article and create an engaging Tweet or Facebook post so that your audience discovers your content.
Use platforms like Quora or Reddit where people actively search for answers and solutions to their questions or problems.
Create an email campaign targeting your list that has opted in and is interested in your content. Leverage paid media to reach even more people.
When creating a LinkedIn post, make sure to use hashtags to increase the reach. Besides that, tag people or a company (using @) if you mention them in your post.
Find the best times to post. According to OkDork, Thursdays are the best days to get your articles published (just to give you an idea).
When it comes to data, LinkedIn gives you a reporting tool to see how your posts perform. Visit your article and see the “View stats” section:
What are the stats that relate to your article?
- Number of comments, likes, shares and article views
- Job titles of users who read your article
- Locality that performs best
- Sources that brought readers to your article
Make sure to analyze your posts and build on the things that work for you! Only this way can you increase your reach, engagement and impact on your personal brand or business.
We’ve gone through a comprehensive guide to write LinkedIn articles natively like a real pro. Now it’s your turn! After you hit the first “Publish” button and get your article in front of your audience, let us know how you did! 👋
